Oxygen tent or like enclosure



June 17, 1952 5, w, 2,600,501

OXYGEN TENT OR LIKE ENCLOSURE Filed D90. 28, 1948 i 2 SHEETS-V-SHEET 1INVENTOR G-EoReE WILLIAM limes ATTORNEY Jline 1 7, 1952 w H|GG$2,600,501

OXYGEN TENT OR LIKE ENCLOSURE Fi1ed Dec. 28, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 wwmPatented June 17,1952

George William Higgs, London, England Application December 28, 1948,Serial No. 67,699 In Great Britain October 27, 1947 8 Claims. (Cl. 128-1) This invention relates to oxygen tents and like enclosures formaintaining infants and small children in a controlled atmosphere as,for example, when travelling in aircraft at altitudes where a supply ofoxygen must be given to maintain comfort, or in hospitals and the likefor medical purposes. The object of the invention is to provide a tentor enclosure which is collapsible and, when collapsed, is extremelycompact so that it may be readily transported.

According to the invention, an oxygen tent or like enclosure for thepurpose herein set forth comprises a base and side and end walls ofgasproof sheet material, stiifening means for said base and walls, andflaps extending along the upper edges of said side and end walls, thesaid flaps being adapted for connection one to another by fasteningmeans at the corners of the enclosure to form a continuous in-turned rimabout the top of said enclosure.

The base and walls are preferably stiffened by metal frames, and theenclosure conveniently comprises two separable units, one consisting ofstiffened side walls connected by flexible gasproof material at theirend and bottom edges to form ends and a base, and the other consistingof a stiffened base and stiffened end walls, each said unit beingadapted to fold flat when separated from the other unit, and said otherunit fitting within the first unit when both are extended.

The invention is hereinafter described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an oxygen tent according to theinvention for use in aircraft;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the base and end stifieners of thetent shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the tent in a fully folded condition;

Figure 4 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1 but with parts brokenaway to show the construction; and

Figure 5 is a detail.

Referring to the drawings, the oxygen tent comprises, when extended anopen-topped en closure the opening of which can be covered, if desired,by a separate transparent cover, and is adapted to fold substantiallyfiat when out of use, thus facilitating transport and storage.

The tent is of rectangular parallelpiped shape, and consists of two mainunits, one comprising the sides III, which are stiffened, and aconnecting strip of flexible sheet material extending between the endand bottom edges of the sides to form an outer base I l and outer endwalls I2, and the other, which serves to hold the sides spaced apart,comprising a stifiened inner base l3 and two stiffened inner end walls14.

The sides I0, inner base [3 and inner end walls It each comprise a frameof round metal bar, conveniently feth inch bright mild steel Atransparent window I9 is provided in one side l0. Along the upper edgesof the sides 10 and outer end walls l2 of the tent, flaps 2| areprovided which, when held together at the corners by quick-releasefasteners 22, form a continuous in turned rim about the edge of thetent.

A cover 23 is provided, which is adapted to be secured to the rim formedby the flaps 2|. by additional quick-release fasteners 24 at thecorners, and further, similar fasteners 25 near .the longitudinal centreof the tent. The cover 23 is of transparent material strengthened aroundits edge, and across the middle by strips 26 of material similar to thatconstituting the covering of the tent.

A shackle 27, mounted on a plate 28 is secured to the centre of thelower edge of one side ofthe tent, the plate being located outside the.cover ing, and bolted, through the covering, to an internal plate 3|carrying a shackle 32, the arrangement being such that the lower framemember of the sideis clamped between the plates 28 and SI (see Figure5). The outer shackle serves for anchoring the tent in position in anaircraft, and the inner shackle for the securing of a fireproof blanket30 adapted to be wrapped around an infant in the tent. Additionalshackles such as that shown at 33 in Figure 4 may be mounted on the tentto provide supplementary anchorage points, and carrying handles 34 aremounted at the upper edges of the sides.

An oxygen supply fitting 35 is mounted on one side wall I0, the fittingcomprising a nozzle 36 projecting into the tent, a sight feed device 31,and a connection for a flexible supply pipe 38.

In use, the two units are assembled together, and held in position byquick-release fasteners 39 which secure the inner end walls M to theouter ends walls 12. The tent is intended to be placed in an aircraft sothat it lies transversely of the aircraft with the main anchorage,shackle 21 aft, the infant who occupies it being wrapped in thefireproof blanket, the ends of which are connected together by suitableclips or catches, indicated at 4|. In the event of the aircraftcrashing, the tent in held by the anchorage shackle against overturning,and the blanket 3B prevents the infant from being thrown violentlyagainst the forward side of the tent.

The cover 23 need not be fastened down permanently or completely, sinceoxygen tendsto remain in the tent due to its density being greater thanthat of air, but it serves to reduce the disturbance of the atmospherein the tent, with consequent loss of oxygen, due to irregular flight ofthe aircraft, or other causes.

4 When the tent is not in use, the flaps 2| are separated at the cornersby releasing the fastoners 22, and the inner base l3 and inner end wallsM are removed after releasing the fasteners 39. The unit comprising theinner base l3 and inner end walls M is folded as shown in Figure 2, andthe other unit is folded as shown in Figure 3, one side l0 being foldeddown on the outer base I! and the second side 9 being folded down overthe first.

The device according to the invention is readily portable, is compactwhen out of use and, when in use, provides an enclosure in which aninfant can be maintained in a controlled atmosphere but in which theinfant readily accessible for feeding and other attention, and inwhich'there are no hard internal surfaces or projections which mightinjure the infant if it struck against them owing, for example, toviolent movements of an aircraft in which it was travelling.

What I claim is:

1. An oxygen tent comprising a base and side and end walls of flexiblegas-proof sheet material,

frame means for supporting said base and walls,

a flap extending along the upper edge of each of said walls, fasteningmeans at the ends of said flaps for securing together the ends of eachtwo flaps which meet at a corner of the tent so that said flaps formtogether a continuous inwardlydirected flange partially enclosing thetop of the tent, and an oxygen inlet device mounted on one of saidwalls.

2. An oxygen tent comprising a base and side and end walls of flexiblegas-proof sheetniaterial, a-s't'iffening unit inserted within said tentand comprising a base frame and end frames hingedly connected to saidbase frame, flaps extending along the upper edges of each of said walls,fastening means at the ends of said flaps for securing together the endsof each two flaps which meet at 4 a corner of the tent so that saidflaps form together a continuous inwardly-directed flange partiallyenclosing the top of the tent, and an oxygen inlet device mounted on oneof said walls.

3. An oxygen tent comprising a base and side and end walls of flexiblegas-proof sheet material, the side walls comprising envelopes enclosingstiffening frames, a stifiening unit inserted within said tent andcomprising a base frame and end frames and an envelope of gas-proofsheet ma-.

terial enclosing said base and end frames and connecting them forfolding movement with respect toeach other, flaps extending along theupper edges of each of the side and end walls, fastening means at theends of said flaps for securing together the ends of each two flapswhich meet at a corner of the tent so that said flaps form together acontinuous inwardly-dir'ecte'd flange partially enclosing the top of thetent, and an oxygen inlet device mounted on one of the side walls.

4. An oxygen tent according to claim 3, wherein padding is provided inthe envelopes of gas: proof material enclosing the stiffening frames.

5. An oxygen tent according to claim 3, where in a transparent window isprovided in one side wall of the tent.

6. An oxygen tent comprising a base and side and end walls of flexiblegas-proof sheet material, frame means for supporting said base andwalls, a flap extending along the upper edge of each of said walls,fastening means at the" ends of said flaps for securing together theends of each two flaps which meet at a corner of the tent so that saidflaps form together a continuous inwardlydirected flange partiallyenclosing the top of the tent, an oxygen inlet device mounted on oneside wall of the tent, a flexible cover, and readily releas'ablefastening means securing said flexible cover to the flaps forming theinturned flange.

'7. An oxygen tent according to claim 3, whereina shackle is providedexternally at the lower edge of one side, and is anchored to thestiffening frame of that side.

8. An oxygen tent according'to claim 7, wherein a second shackle isprovided internally oithe tent at the lower edge of one side, and thefixing means for both shackles comprise plates to'which the shackles arehinged, the said plates together forming a clamp secured by bolts to thestiffening frame.

GEORGE WILIJAM- I-I-IGGS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,039,944 Hohlfeld Oct. 1, 1912GI'QJSSO Oct. 3,

